A large number of different container structures are utilized by manufacturers to ship a variety of different products to end users, which may be, for example, assembly plants. In the automobile industry for example, an assembly plant assembling a particular automobile might utilize a number of different parts from different manufacturers. These manufacturers ship their respective parts to the assembly plant in container structures where the parts are then removed from the container structure and assembled into a finished automobile.
For a variety of automobile parts, and particularly large or long parts, such as automobile door panels, steel rack structures or racks are often used for shipment. Such steel racks generally comprise an open steel frame and specially designed support structures known in the industry as dunnage which engages the frame and the parts or products simultaneously to support and protect the products from damage within the frame during shipment. The steel frame provides sufficient structural support during shipment to reduce or eliminate any damage to the parts residing in the dunnage.
Often the steel racks are specially designed and dimensioned for a particular automobile part. The racks may support the parts in a side-by-side fashion for easy horizontal access on an assembly line. For example, a steel rack full of parts will usually be positioned next to a particular station on an assembly line, and the line worker will remove a part directly from the rack for installation on the automobile. For easy access, the racks are often designed to be entered from the side as opposed to the top so that a user may remove parts horizontally rather than vertically as with some other containers. Horizontal removal of parts may be easier for an assembly line worker than vertical removal of parts, especially if the process is repeated many times.
Although steel racks have proven adequate for parts shipment, such racks also have various drawbacks. First, the steel racks are heavy, which makes shipping and handling more difficult, dangerous and expensive. Often times, the weight of the steel rack is far greater than the weight of the parts shipped in the steel rack. In such situations, a more lightweight, but structurally sound, shipping container in which the parts may be horizontally dispensed would be desirable.
Another drawback to steel racks is that they are expensive to fabricate and generally must be specially fabricated and fitted to hold the specific parts being shipped. They are then only adequate for containing a single part type.
For stacking purposes, some steel racks are specifically designed with a plurality of studs extending upwardly from the top which are adapted to fit into holes in the legs of another steel rack made by the same manufacturer. However, a steel rack structure made by one manufacture may not be stackable on steel rack structures made by other manufacturers. In other words, steel racks from different manufacturers may not always be stacked together. Therefore, steel racks must be returned to their place of origin once product is removed from the rack for repeated use. Shipping the rack back to is origin is expensive due to the weight of the rack.
Specially designed dunnage or support structures are manufactured for use with a particular size open steel frame of a rack. As a result, a steel rack used to ship one part may not readily be reused to ship a different part. Therefore, existing steel racks do not provide ready flexibility for reuse. If the specific part for which the rack is designed becomes obsolete or is not longer used, the rack may be essentially worthless.
Another drawback with steel racks is that they are susceptible to rust if left in moist conditions for any length of time. Therefore, a stored rack may be aesthetically unattractive even if it is able to be reused.
Another known type of shipping container is a four sided vertical dispensing injection molded container in which one side of the container is cut off or removed to convert the vertical dispensing container to a horizontal dispensing container. In the modified container, each of the three generally planar walls is made of injection molded plastic approximately two inches (50.8 mm) thick. Each of the walls may be joined to a vertical wall portion of an injection molded base. A generally rectangular frame is secured to two opposed upstanding walls to provide an open fourth side of the container through which products may be horizontally dispensed. Dunnage is often located in the container to support parts inside the container which may be removed through the open fourth side in a substantially horizontal manner. U.S. Pat. No. 6,540,096, which is fully incorporated herein, discloses such a container. A cover is often placed over the three sided horizontal dispensing container, thereby enabling such horizontal dispensing containers to be stacked.
Similarly, two opposed injection molded walls may be removed and replaced with steel frames, thereby creating a horizontal dispensing container which may be loaded or unloaded from opposite sides. The steel frames defining opposed open sides of the container may be rigid or pivotal to enable these two sides of the container to collapse. Such a modified container having two opposed open sides may have dunnage in the form of a partition assembly or pouches therein to store and protect from damage products being shipped. Such dunnage must be fitted inside the modified container to hold the specific parts being shipped.
One drawback to these two-sided horizontal dispensing containers is that due to the large size of the container, when an operator must remove a part from the rear of the container, the operator must either 1) turn or rotate the container or 2) reach way back inside the dunnage to grab the part. In the event the operator is unable to turn or rotate the container due to limited space on an assembly line, the operator must consistently stress or strain his or her body in an ergonomically inefficient manner to remove parts for use in assembling an automobile. Thus, the removal of parts from existing horizontal dispensing containers may be physically stressful for the worker or unloader and may lead to job related injuries. Job related injuries increase costs.
Access to the products inside known horizontal dispensing containers is a concern. Specifically in the automobile industry, containers full of product are positioned on an assembly line adjacent to a work area which is associated with a particular product to be installed on a manufactured vehicle. For example, at a line position or station where interior door panels are installed onto a vehicle, a container full of door panels is positioned at the work station for access by the line worker. The product or part is taken directly from the container and is used on the line. However, access to the interior of some containers may be difficult when removing parts to install due to limited floor space. Because a line worker only has a certain amount of time to install a part, any delay in accessing a part is undesirable. Furthermore, the repetitive motion of accessing parts to install on a vehicle from some containers can be difficult or straining to line workers since it must be done many times during a shift. Likewise, repetitively having to reach far into a container to remove parts can be wearisome for workers.
Accordingly, there is a need for a horizontal dispensing container which reduces the likelihood of on the job injuries related to removal of parts from the container.
There is further a need for a horizontal dispensing container which may quickly and easily unloaded without moving the container.